


Of Course, Tony Stark

by SHOOT050313



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Insecure Tony Stark, M/M, One Shot, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25062046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHOOT050313/pseuds/SHOOT050313
Summary: Tony knew what his first words would sound like. He also knew that he'd probably never hear his soulmate say anything else. And despite how he actually felt- he told himself he was okay with it.Of course, meeting your soulmate never goes to plan.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 4
Kudos: 290
Collections: One Shots





	Of Course, Tony Stark

_Of course, Tony Stark._ Tony always knew how his words were going to be said- full of disappointment and probably even anger at him and the whole system. 

He knows, of course, because that's what he would say to himself if he got Tony Stark for a soulmate- why would anyone want the man who single-handed created the strongest weapons to ever be in the hands of terrorists? Even though he's shut that down and done his best to move forward he knows he's still considered the merchant of death. Being Iron Man is the only way for him to even begin to even the score- if that's possible for him. 

The moment the words appeared, or rather the moment Tony grew enough that the words were legible enough for Howard to speak them aloud, he knew how they'd sound. He said them as if he knew who would say it- as if he already knew that they wouldn't even want to hear the second thing Tony had to say. As Tony grew older he made the decision that since his soulmate didn't want him he'd move on first. It wasn't like his playboy persona was false- he drank, he invited people back to his room, he did everything he was supposed to, but he couldn't keep it up behind closed doors. He was just lucky that being a playboy weapons creator made such great headlines. 

By the time he took over his father's company- for real- and then gave control of it away, he knew that there would be more people out there to push him away. At least one more than the four people currently close enough to manage it. And half of those people had already come close. He was ready for his soulmate to abandon him- he couldn't blame them at all. He was okay with it- he had to be.

So, of course, the last thing he expects is for Pepper to bring over a man at a fundraiser for neurosurgery research who actually looks happy to see him. "This here, of course, is Tony Stark." 

She gestured for Tony to take the lead, but the man moved before Tony could think of a greeting, grabbing his hand and kissing it- leaving Tony speechless as he met his eyes. "Of course, Tony Stark." He smiles like he hasn't just shattered Tony's entire life- he looks amused at the look of shock that Tony knows is on his face.

Tony starts about 30 different sentences in his head ranging from anger to disbelief before relief wins out, "Oh thank goodness." He watched as the man straightened up almost immediately, still with a smile, but with definite doubt creeping its way in. 

Pepper is still there, a fact she reminds them of as she begins escorting them out of the room, "Tony, this is Dr.Stephen Strange." She lead them into a small sitting room, watching as they stood there standing and staring at each other. "I'm going to go keep this fundraiser going, but I hope that you'll at the very least say some words to each other if you can't get it together enough to return to the party. I'll return once it's over if I don't see you back out on the floor." She closed the door with a look and at the click of the latch they both unfroze from their shock.

"I'm sorry... I just never thought anyone would be happy- excited even to-"

"This is definitely the best fundraiser I've been forced to go to-" 

They stopped and stared at each other again, but Tony gestured for the doctor to continue before he could dig himself into a hole.

"Sorry, I was just saying that I'm grateful my colleague dragged me here tonight. I have to say I didn't expect to have someone so- intelligent… Especially with my words, I kind of expected to be miles ahead of them rather than someone just as well known and celebrated in their field." He chuckled easily as if he didn't just compliment Tony.

Tony should never be compared to him- he barely knew anything about the man, but he's a doctor- he saves people every day, and Tony has probably killed more people than he's ever saved.

"Ummm... I don't want to ruin this- mainly because I can't believe it, but are you actually happy that I'm your soulmate?" When Stephen's face falls he hastily says the rest of his thought, "It's just because I've made so many mistakes and so many people would say I'm not worth anyone's time and you're a doctor and you're obviously so good and you save people and then you just seemed happy to see me and then you were my soulmate and you were still happy and- I’m sorry but it was never supposed to be like this."

"Never supposed to be like what?" Stephen still looked concerned, but he sat down on the bench, clearly waiting for an answer.

Tony responded by sitting in the chair opposite him, meeting his eyes for the second times that night and almost getting lost in them before he explained, "It was never supposed to work out- my dad, my past, everything about me should mean that my soulmate hates me, but you don't. And don't get me wrong- I'm ecstatic- but I just can't believe it."

Stephen's face went from concerned and expectant to concerned and serious as he walked over to Tony, kneeling in front of him to be eye-level as he took his hand. "Well, believe it. Because unless we just so happened to say each others' words, we're soulmates. And I feel like I'm now required to say it, but I don't hate you."

"Okay." Tony let out a breath, releasing a whole bunch of tension he did not realize he'd been carrying. "I do believe you- but why? I'm the _merchant of death_." He started to chuckle but cut himself off at Stephen's expression.

"The media never does anyone justice. Plus you've done so much good in this world, I don't pay much attention to the media but when you came out as Iron Man I did my research. And I have to say, I was a brilliant surgeon, but you- you're a genius. Even when my hands worked the most I could do was fix a brain that was broken, but you. You fix things- even things that aren't necessarily broken, you make them better and more affordable and that's what makes you better than I was... And we've both become heroes, so that makes us as equal as we could be- in my eyes at least."

Tony was silenced by this admission, so unused to this level of honesty and the emotions that he had no words to say as he processed it all. They sat in comfortable silence for maybe a minute before Tony even attempted to form his thoughts into words, "At the very least you haven't been a sarcastic asshole since I met you."

That made his soulmate smile and Tony resolved to never make him frown or do anything other than smile as long as he lived. "Well I think I'll prove you wrong as soon as you stop looking like you're going to cry if I say one more decent thing about you.” He took a breath, Also, I always thought my words would come from someone seeing me walk out of an operating room, this was so much better."

Tony smiled- for real this time- and then both took a second to put their public personas back on. Tony because he knew Pepper would eventually drag him back into the fundraiser despite her promise to return after and Stephen because he wanted to show off the man that was now his. Let's just say there were two headlines about the gala the next morning and neither one of them was about how much money was raised.


End file.
